under the wintery moon
by marsh king's daughter
Summary: Oneshot collection. Drabble 3: Santa: Sometimes it's better just to pretend. Riku x Sora, rating may go up later ...a sprinkle of holiday cheer...
1. peppermint

**Disclaimer:** Believe me, if I had enough money to buy Riku and Sora, I would.

**Warnings:** None for this one, but rating may go up for later chapters.

oOoOo

**o**ne: **p**eppermint

oOoOo

Sora shivered, reaching up to adjust his scarf so that it covered a greater portion of his face to block out the biting wind. His eyes stung, blurring the glittering Christmas lights adorning the dark outlines of the trees in the park. The brunet glanced over at his friend, who seemed to be completely unfazed by the falling snow and numbing temperature.

Riku caught his stare, smiling and reaching over to grab the boy's bare hand and bring them both into his coat pocket. Sora sighed at the tingling warmth, allowing his mind to wander in and out of focus as the older boy guided him home.

"I wish it would stop snowing," he announced suddenly, voice muffled slightly by the striped scarf wrapped around him.

The silveret chuckled, rubbing Sora's palm with his thumb, bringing back some circulation. "You'll regret that when we're stuck with the effects of global warming later. Enjoy it while you still can."

The smaller boy didn't reply, and for a few minutes the only sound was the faint crunch of their footsteps on the powdery surface. Then he finally spoke up, childishly mumbling, "But it's cold."

Riku abruptly came to a halt, leaving Sora to clumsily stagger backwards a bit, not wishing to lose the warmth of his friend's pocket. "What?" the brunet asked, looking around perplexedly.

"Stick out your tongue," the older boy ordered simply, aquamarine eyes soft.

Sora blinked in confusion, only to find several snowflakes clinging to his lashes. "Why? It's only water."

Riku smiled to himself, as if he knew some little secret that he _might_ be willing to share. "Nah. It's better…you'll see."

The younger boy rolled his eyes, resentful of the little exchange of banter that was elongating their time spent outside rather than in. Sighing in defeat, he grabbed his muffler once more, this time pulling it down to reveal the lower half of his face, which was tinged pink from the cold. Hesitantly he leaned his head back, closing his eyes and opening his mouth slightly. Suddenly he felt five again, and almost smiled when the first flake hit the tip of his tongue.

He opened his eyes again, turning his attention back to Riku. "Okay. It's better."

The silveret grinned, taking the end of Sora's scarf and pulling the boy closer. "Your lips are blue," he proclaimed, leaning down slightly.

Sora watched the puffs of their breath meeting in the space between them for a moment, oddly fascinated. Then he looked up, meeting Riku's eyes shyly. "Warm them up for me?"

"I thought you'd never ask," the older boy murmured, closing the distance as they shared a kiss that tasted like peppermint candycanes, melting snowflakes, and things that were only sweet while they lasted.

oOoOo

**Author's Notes: **Short? Yes. Pointless? Maybe. Angsty? Negative, chief.

Huzzah.

Right. I planned to write a long Christmas oneshot, but apparently my brain has decided only to function just enough to spew out tiny little amounts of words at a time, so I never would have finished. It's really frustrating…if I do so much as _look_ at my computer, all of my ideas just fizzle out and start to die a slow, painful death. I'm very, very sorry about the lack of updates. Truly. But this will get random additions until Christmas, because drabbling tends to boost my inspiration. Hopefully it'll help.

-Emmy

Be environmentally friendly. Save the polar bears.


	2. mistletoe

**Disclaimer:** Believe me, if I had enough money to buy Riku and Sora, I would.

**Warnings:** Very brief language. Nothing too traumatizing for the little ones.

oOoOo

**t**wo:**m**istletoe

oOoOo

"There's mistletoe in the doorway."

Riku glanced up at the redhead, who was offering a cup of cider in her outstretched hand and looking at him expectantly. "I know," he sighed, bringing himself up to a sitting position and taking the drink gratefully. "It's kind of hard not to notice when suddenly the entrance to your kitchen is decidedly the best place to make out."

Kairi laughed softly, joining him in the couch. "And you're not going to use that to your advantage?"

The silveret delicately raised an eyebrow, blowing into the steaming cup. "Considering our relationship didn't work very well _before _I found out that I'm gay, I really don't think now is the best time for you to try coming on to me again."

Kairi snorted, rolling her eyes. "I wasn't implying that I wanted to kiss you, but it's nice to see that you're as conceited as ever."

"Then what _were_ you implying?" Riku asked curiously, watching another eager couple amble across the living room towards the girl's kitchen.

"That there might be a certain someone who _you_ want to kiss," the redhead replied in a sing-song voice, swinging her legs off the edge of the sofa.

Oh,_ wonderful_. Kairi's little games of matchmaking were always_ so_ much fun.

"And who might that be?" the boy inquired, already dreading the response.

"Oh, I don't know…" the redhead answered innocently as Riku brought the cider to his lips, taking a careful sip. "Sora Hikari?"

Riku choked, tongue burning as he swallowed much more of the liquid than planned. Kairi patted him gently as the back as he coughed and spluttered, face turning red for more reasons than one. "I knew it," she sang, smirking. "You're way too easy to read."

"I do not want to kiss Sora Hikari!" the silveret gasped, leaning over to set that stupid cup of cider as far away as possible.

"Please," Kairi scoffed. "You've been staring at that boy the entire time you've been here."

"I have not," Riku lied, shifting uncomfortably under her penetrating gaze.

"Really? Then who were you staring at?" she asked in a mockingly sweet voice.

"Well, if you must know," the boy began, clearing his throat and letting his gaze wander surreptitiously over to where the small brunet was chattering happily away to another boy, "I was staring at…Pence."

"Pence," Kairi repeated incredulously. "You were staring at_ Pence_."

"I happen to find him very attractive," Riku proclaimed, feeling a bit ill.

"Well that's fine," the redhead said airily. "You can kiss him instead." And with that she jumped up, grabbing Riku's arm in hopes of dragging him along with her.

"What are you doing?" the silveret asked edgily, glowering at his so called "friend".

"Helping you hook up with him," Kairi explained sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

"Oh, hell no," Riku muttered. At the girl's smug look, he added, "Uh…'cause I've just been waiting for this moment my entire life and it can't be rushed or anything. It's gotta be perfect, y'know."

"Get up," the redhead ordered, pulling him to his feet with a surprising amount of strength.

"Alright, it's fear of rejection!" Riku tried desperately. "I don't want to be heartbroken! He's too good for me! I'm secretly married to an older woman! Who's…who's pregnant with my child!" he babbled uncharacteristically as he was dragged across the room.

"Hi, Sora, Pence!" Kairi said warmly, coming to a halt in front of the two boys as Riku quickly shut himself up.

"Hey, Kairi," Sora greeted, smile sending little flutters throughout Riku's chest. "It was so nice of you to hold the Christmas party this year. It's great."

"Well, I just do whatever I can to make people happy," Kairi replied, nodding furtively.

Riku mildly wondered just how inappropriate it would be to punch a girl. Maybe slipping something into her drink would be the better way to go.

"Hi, Riku," the brunet added shyly, instantly melting his resolve to kill Kairi.

"Hey," he returned, flashing a rare smile, which was followed by an "accidental" kick from the redhead's three and a half inch heels which she managed to pass off as "stretching".

Clearing his throat, Riku resisted the urge to kick her back, instead leaning casually against the wall and turning his attention to the other boy. "Hey, Pence," he said in a husky voice, charm practically oozing from his pores. "Is that a new bandana? Because brown's really your color. The way it brings out your eyes and everything…"

It was hard to tell which of the three's expressions was the most priceless, but in the end it was probably Pence. For a moment his mouth just hung open, reminding Riku vaguely of a dead fish. Finally, completely flustered, he stammered. "I…I have a girlfriend!" Riku started, eyes widening slightly at the proclamation. "Ihavetogo," Pence added quickly, gaze lingering on the silveret for a second longer before he wandered off to join another cluster of adolescents.

"Well," Riku said blankly. "That was unexpected."

"Shall I hold you while you cry?" Kairi offered sympathetically, stretching her arms out.

"Get. Out," the silveret growled, as the girl giggled.

"Fine, fine," she acquiesced, bringing her arms back to her sides. "Have fun, you two," she added with a wink before trailing after Pence.

Riku laughed nervously, realizing that he was indeed now alone with his crush of nearly two years, who was staring at him innocently. Only inches away. In their own little corner. With nobody watching. Oh, the possibilities.

"So, uh," he began stupidly, wracking his brain for a conversation starter. It had always been easier to flirt with girls, even the few older guys he had been interested with initially, but Sora…that was a whole other story. "Pence…do you think he's…?"

"Nah," the brunet replied, laughing melodically. "You just kind of have that effect on people."

"Oh," Riku mumbled, praying that his face wasn't quite as red as it felt.

"Er, no, I mean…!" Sora stammered, realization hitting him.

"…Do I have that effect on you?" the older boy asked curiously, inching the slightest bit closer to the brunet.

"S-sometimes," Sora answered honestly, his own face heating up slightly as the other boy's close proximity flooded his senses.

"Huh," Riku murmured, knocking their foreheads together gently, eyes meeting nervously. "You know, there's mistletoe in the doorway…"

oOoOo

**Author's Notes: **Hehe. This is fun to write. And Riku x Pence? You know you love it. It will so be the main pairing in my next fic. And it'll be hot. Incredibly hot.

-shifty eyes-…I'm dead serious, I swear.

Thank you to **lolabloodlust, Kira Sakura, **and **Captara** for the reviews. And to the former…O.O I'm sorry. About everything. I hope this continues to cheer you up as much as it can.

And if there's any particular topic you'd like to see in this, I'm open to ideas, so feel free to request something :D

-Emmy

Reviews are lovely…


	3. santa

**Disclaimer:** Believe me, if I had enough money to buy Riku and Sora, I would.

**Warnings: **Uh, they're like six. And no, I'm not into shota.

oOoOo

**t**hree:**s**anta

oOoOo

"He_ is_ gonna come, Riku," the little brunet insisted stubbornly, hugging his knees to his chest, gaze never wavering from the fireplace.

His older friend scowled, none too pleased that they were going to stay up all night waiting for a nonexistent man to come down the chimney. "He's not _real_, Sor. Are you gonna listen to me or Kairi?"

Sora contemplated this for a moment, azure eyes thoughtful. Then he announced resolutely, "Kairi."

The scowl deepened. "But I'm older!"

"You're only seven," Sora stated matter-of-factly. "And Kairi's from a whole 'nother _world._"

"Well maybe 'Santa' only lives _there_," the silveret speculated, huddling deeper into his blankets.

"He does not! He lives in the North Pole and he can fly to all the worlds and all the houses in one night!" the younger boy asserted, adding, "You'll see."

"You're never gonna stay up all night anyways," Riku mumbled, flicking the brunet in the middle of his forehead.

"Oww!" Sora whined, teary-eyed. "What was that for?"

"To prove that you're just a baby," the older boy replied, although he would never admit that he hated seeing his friend cry.

The brunet pouted. "I'm not a baby and I _am_ gonna stay up! Just you watch me!"

oOoOo

Minutes later, he was sound asleep.

Riku grinned smugly as his friend's gentle snoring filled the room, but his expression softened just a bit as he shifted closer to the younger boy, contentedly warm.

He looked back over at the fireplace, almost wishing that Santa _would_ appear. Maybe he didn't believe in flying reindeer and toy-making elves, but he knew how disappointed his friend would be if he knew the truth.

Sighing with exaggeration, he got up, throwing off the blankets and watching the brunet whimper in his sleep a bit, curling into a little ball on the floor.

He smiled to himself, then padded quietly down the hallway, careful not to wake Sora or his parents. He followed the glow of the nightlight to the hall closet, the door creaking slightly as he sifted through the hanging jackets, looking for his own. He found it a minute later, slowly unzipping the left pocket and digging his little hand inside until it closed around a box. Satisfied, he pulled it out and closed the door again, treading softly back towards the living room. Now if he could just find a pen…

oOoOo

Sunlight filtered in through the window panes, slowly entering Sora's eyes as they fluttered open. Suddenly he shot up, looking around the room wildly for the traces of evidence he just _knew_ had to be somewhere. "Riku!" he hissed, shaking his friend who was still sleeping peacefully next to him. "Riku, wake up! It's Christmas!" he continued, shaking harder. Finally he flicked the boy's forehead, effectively earning a groggy moan.

"Wha-?" Riku mumbled blearily, slowly sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Merry Christmas, Ri-ku!" Sora exclaimed happily, throwing his arms around his older friend, who blinked in realization and quickly patted the carpet around him, searching for the package.

A second later the brunet pulled away, face falling. "I fell asleep, though," he admitted sheepishly. "So I dunno if Santa really came or not."

"'Course he did," the silveret said, thrusting a messily wrapped present in front of the shocked boy.

Sora's eyes widened, and he reached out almost hesitantly for the package. He took it from the other boy slowly, examining it closely. Then he looked back at Riku, hopefulness and disbelief clear in his expression. "He came? Really? You saw him?" he asked excitedly in a hushed voice.

"Yeah," Riku mumbled. "He said to give it to you later 'cause he didn't wanna wake you up."

The brunet grinned widely, readying himself to tear into the wrapping paper before the little white tag hanging off of it caught his eye. It was addressed to him, with a prominent, inky smear following the "From:" and "Santa" scrawled messily in big black letters after that.

Sora's smile softened, and he fingered the tag for a moment longer before taking the wrapping off very carefully and subtly shoving the tag in his pocket.

He would thank Riku later.

oOoOo

**Author's Notes: **Oh, the smushyness. Inspired by that REI commercial with those kids and the head lamps. Yeah…I find inspiration in weird places. xD

-Emmy


End file.
